Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Bearberry

Cynthia Wright

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng., commonly known as

bearberry and kinnickinnick, is a creeping evergreen shrub found

in temperate areas of North America, Europe and Asia. Arcto­

staphylos , derived from the Greek words arktos, a bear, and staphyl,

a bunch of grapes, refers to the common name bearberry. The other

common name kinnickinnick is of American Indian origin meaning

mixture, and refers to the smoking mixtures that included the

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dried leaves of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi.

A. uva-vrsi grows well in dry sandy or rocky soil at higher

elevations from artic America to Alaska, south to southern New

Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, Colorado and

California. A__ uva-ursi is found in coniferous forests from

Oregon, Washington and California to Colorado and New Mexico.

In Europe A_ uva-ursi extends northward from Northwestern

Ireland, Yorkshire and Central Russia. In Asia it extends north­

ward from Lower Siberia and 'Kamtschatka. Its most northerly

range includes Iceland and Greenland.

A. uva-ursi is abundant on rocky outcrops, as well as the

dry floor of open woods. It stands about 6 inches in height and

characteristically forms dense mats, sometimes many feet in 2

diameter. The leaves are 1 to 1 1/2 inches long and about

1/2 inch broad, alternate, thick, shining and evergreen turning

mahogany color when aged. The leaf surface is smooth and

glossy, bright green to grayish green above and lighter yellowish

green and reticulated below.

The leaf shape is obovate, spatulate, rounded at the apex,

narrowed at the base and entire at the margin. The odor of the

19 leaves is slight and the taste is bitter and astringent.

The bark on the long, trailing stems is dark-brown to red­

dish and is somewhat shredded. The brilliant red berries, cupped

by persistant, five-cleft green calyx-lobes at their bases may

2 be nearly 1/2 inches in diameter, but are usually the size of a

16 2

pea. The berries are edible, though dry and mealy. The

flowers are pink to white with red markings, in terminal droop­

ing clusters, or racemes. The corolla is ovoid, constricted at

the throat and about 2 inches long, having 5 lobes that are short, 16

acute and recurved. The roots are thick, ligneous and creeping.

Medicinal uses of A^ uva-ursi have been noted as early as

the thirteenth century, probably as a diuretic. Today, the

fresh leaves are dried and powdered and used to treat many dis­

orders, but its main use is as a diuretic and mild disinfectant

for the urinary tract. ' ' It has also been used as an

astringent, as a hemostatic and as an excellent remedy in nephri­

tic disorders. Conditions for which it is used also include

chronic cystitis, kidney stones, and.bronchitis, usually in the 14 form of a tea or tincture. Because it has a specific action

on the urinary organs, it has been used in cases of gravel, ulcer­

ation of kidney and bladder, catarrh, gleet, leukorreha, and

menorrhagia.

Medicinal uses include a decoction prepared by the Thompson

Indians of British Columbia as a remedy for blood spitting, and

a decoction of the leaves and stems that is used as a wash for

22 sore eyes. The Menominee Indians of northern American used

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the leaves as a seasoner to enhance the taste of female remedies,

21 and it has also been used to treat uterine hemorrhages. The

Chippewa Indians cooked the berries with meat as a seasoning

for the broth and they mixed dried pulverized leaves with red

willow and smoked them for headaches. They also used the-.leaves

as a charm by smoking them in a pipe to attract game.

The dried leaves are used as the source of the drug in all

preparations. ' ' The leaves can be gathered and carefully

dried at midday in late summer for the best results, making sure

3 to gather only green and perfect foliage. Considerable amounts

of the leaves have been exported from Barcelona and Spain, and

much has been gathered for the market in California, northern

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United States and Canada.

The constituents of the leaves include arbutin; tannic,

gallic and ellagic acids; ericolin; calcium oxalate; and a cry-

stalized resinous substance called ursone (ursolic acid). The

three principles arbutin, ericolin (glycosides), and ursone are

common to the family Ericaceae. ' ' One iridoid glucoside

is present also in the leaves. It is .characterized by the cyclo-

pentanopyran ring system and is called monotropein. Fresh

leaves and twigs and A^ uva-ursi are used to isolate this iridoid, 9

by using chromatographic separation.

The powdered drug made from the dried leaves has a hay-like

odor, and bitter taste. It is greenish-brown and contains yellow 19

tannin masses and prisms of calcium .oxalate. The active chemi­

cal agent in the powdered leaves is the drug arbutin, and commer­

cial preparations of the leaves are from either this crude powder 14 or from extracts of arbutin. 3

When arbutin is taken orally, it breaks down in the human

system by hydrolysis to form hydroquinone, a powerful disinfectant

19 and antiferment. " Hydroquinone then combines with glucuronic

acid or sulfuric acid and is excreted through the kidney in this

7 form. Caution should be taken when using the drug arbutin

because hydroquinone is toxic. The symptoms of poisoning include

titinnus, vomiting, delerium, convulsions, and collapse. Death

may result.

When the leaves of A _ uva-ursi are used as a crude drug,

gallotannin (gallic acid) prevents enzymes from splitting arbutin.

This explains why crude plant extracts are more effective medicin-

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ally than pure arbutin.

Arbutin is an effective urinary disinfectant only if the

following two conditions are realized:

1. The non-toxic glycoside should be given in large doses.

2. The urine must be alkaline "because the active compound,

hydroquinone, must be generated from its inactive 7, 14 esters.

Much contradiction about the suitability of arbutin for

therapy of urinary infections is caused by insufficient knowledge

of the mode of action. Consequently the drug is often applied

in an inefficient way.

The official preparation of the drug is a fluid extract with 19

a dose of 15 to 60 grams. For another preparation of the drug

the fresh leaves are to be chopped and pounded to a pulp, adding

the pulp to dilute alcohol and straining through a cloth. This

liquid is allowed to stand eight days, then filtered to obtain

the drug.

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Whenpreparing the drug you must consider that the arbutin content

in the leaves reaches a maximum in the growing period between

12 13. October and December, and a minimum in April and May. '

Other less important active agents in A^ uva-ursi are the

tannic acids. These include both gallic and ellagic acids. The

most well-known property of tannins is their astringency, due

to their ability of precipitating proteins. They are mainly

used as an ingredient in some ointments and suppositories for

14 treating hemorrhoids.

Of some of the phenolic acids found in tannins, gallic acid

is probably the one of most common occurence. Ellagic acid is

a secondary product formed on hydrolysis of some tannins which

are actually esters of hexaoxydiphenic acid. The hydrolyzable

tannins are often complex mixtures containing several different

phenolic acids esterified to different positions of the sugar

molecule. The "tannic acid" of commerse is actually a mixture

18 of free gallic acid and various galloyl esters of glucose.

The tannins in A^ uva-ursi leaves have been used experimen­

tally to kill the freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata, which

is the intermediate host of schistosomiasis, one of the most

widespread parasitic diseases in tropical and subtropical countries.

Thus the tannins found in A^ uva-ursi may have uses for controlling

schistosomiasis in humans by controlling the disease-transmitting

20 snails. The remaining major constituent in the leaves of

bearberry are not medicinal but are present in large enough

quantities to be mentioned. They include Ursolic acid (found

in the waxy coating of the leaves), calcium oxalate and ericolin

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(an amphorous, very bitter glucoside). There are also other 1 o 2 c

common constituents in the leaves such as gums and resins. '

Many of the chemicals in A_ uva-ursi are common to many

plants in the family Ericaceae, and other species of the genus

arctostaphylos contain principles similar to uva-ursi.

A. glauca, a small California evergreen, is used as an astringent,

and A^ gaultherea is used as an astringent, a diuretic and a 19 stimulant. The leaves of trailing arbutus (Epegla repens)

contain eriocolin and possibly arbutin, and A^ chimaphilia

26

contains arbutin and is used as a diuretic. It is also inter­

esting to note that some California tribes fermented the berries

of A_ manganita to produce an alcoholic drink.

The leaves of A__ uva-ursi have also been used as a smoking

material by many of the northwestern American Indian tribes,

such as the Chippewa Indians. A^ uva-ursi is a major constituent

for many smoking mixtures, commonly referred to as kinnickinnick.

In the 1800's, it was common- to see bunches of this plant hanging

in Indian houses on the northwest coast just as one saw bunches

of tobacco hanging up in backwoods Kentucky homes. The leaves

today are still used by many Indians and sold commercially . The

Great Northwest Fur and Trading Post sells A_;_ uva-ursi for $6.00

per 1/4 pound and $10.00 per 1/2 pound.

The smoke produced by burning A^ uva-ursi leaves have strong

narcotic properties with symptoms similar to the effects of 17 alcohol. Some Indians stupify themselves for a short period

of time by swallowing quantities of smoke, which, after being

retained in the stomach and lungs for a while, is poured out in

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volumes from the mouth and nostrils. '

Reagan describes an Indian of the Quillayute tribe of the

Pacific Northwest who became intoxicated by smoking bearberry

leaves and danced in the fire until the soles of his feet were

burned to a crisp and deformed for life. Several years earlier

another old Indian got drunk on the narcotic inhaled from the

smoke and fell in the fire, burned his feet almost off, burned

his hands badly, burned his nose completely off, and also part

of his lips.

No evidence exists in the literature that A^ uva-ursi has

been cultivated from seed, but it is known that it is notoriously

difficult to transplant. To move it you should draw the young

stems through a hole in a flower pot, fill the pot with soil,

and leave for a year for the roots to develop. Then the stem

may be severed and plant moved.

In summary, the leaves of A^ uva-ursi have been used his­

torically as a diuretic and used for the past 700 years for

various urinary tract disorders. The drug arbutin is the active

agent in A^ uva-ursi leaves and its breakdown in the body forms

hydroquinone, a disinfectant. The drug arbutin can only be

effective if given in large doses and the urine is alkaline.

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Bibliography

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4. Densmore, Frances. Uses of Plants by the Chippewa Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report. #44: 273-379

5. Feest, Christian F. New Wines and Beers of Native North Americans. American Medicinal Medicine. l7(3>: 331

6. Forness, Mike. Analysis of Qo.mponents Used by Various North American Indians in Smoking Mixtures. Northwest Anthropology . Research Notes. 15(2): 167

7. Frohne, D. The Urinary Disinfectant Sffect of Extract from Leaves of uva-ursi. Planta Medica. January 1970; 18(1): 1-25

8. Gunther, Erna. Ethnobotany of Western Washington. Seattle, Washington. University of Washington Press.; 1974. p.44

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14. Leung, Albert Y. Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs and Cosmetics. New York. John Wiley and Son's. ,- 1980.

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ArctcstapHylos uva-ursi (from 4 Ge-rard, The Herfaa/7,T597).

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